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caviling
adjective as in captious
adjective as in carping
adjective as in censorious
adjective as in critical
Strongest match
Weak matches
- analytical
- belittling
- biting
- calumniatory
- captious
- carping
- cavillous
- censorious
- censuring
- choleric
- condemning
- critic
- cutting
- cynical
- demeaning
- derogatory
- diagnostic
- disapproving
- discerning
- discriminating
- disparaging
- exacting
- exceptive
- finicky
- fussy
- hairsplitting
- humbling
- hypercritical
- lowering
- nagging
- niggling
- nit-picking
- overcritical
- particular
- penetrating
- reproachful
- sarcastic
- satirical
- scolding
- severe
- sharp
- trenchant
- withering
adjective as in cross
Strong matches
adjective as in disputatious
adjective as in faultfinding
adjective as in fretful
adjective as in hypercritical
adjective as in hypocritical
adjective as in overcritical
Weak matches
- analytical
- belittling
- biting
- calumniatory
- captious
- carping
- cavillous
- censorious
- censuring
- choleric
- condemning
- critic
- cutting
- cynical
- demanding
- demeaning
- derogatory
- diagnostic
- disapproving
- discerning
- discriminating
- disparaging
- exacting
- exceptive
- faultfinding
- finicky
- fussy
- hairsplitting
- humbling
- hypercritical
- lowering
- nagging
- niggling
- nit-picking
- particular
- penetrating
- reproachful
- sarcastic
- satirical
- scolding
- severe
- sharp
- trenchant
- withering
adjective as in Pecksniffian
Weak matches
- affected
- artificial
- assuming
- bland
- canting
- captious
- deceptive
- deluding
- dissembling
- double
- double-dealing
- duplicitous
- faithless
- false
- feigning
- fishy
- fraudulent
- glib
- hollow
- insincere
- jivey
- left-handed
- lying
- moralistic
- oily
- pharisaic
- pharisaical
- phony
- pietistic
- pious
- sanctimonious
- self-righteous
- smooth
- smooth-spoken
- smooth-tongued
- snide
- specious
- spurious
- two-faced
- unctuous
- unnatural
- unreliable
adjective as in peevish
Weak matches
- acrimonious
- angry
- bad-tempered
- cantankerous
- captious
- carping
- childish
- churlish
- complaining
- crabbed
- cranky
- critical
- cross
- crotchety
- crusty
- cussed
- fault-finding
- fractious
- fretful
- fretting
- grouchy
- grousing
- growling
- grumpy
- huffy
- ill-natured
- mean
- morose
- obstinate
- ogre
- ornery
- out-of-sorts
- pertinacious
- petulant
- querulous
- short-tempered
- snappy
- splenetic
- sulky
- sullen
- surly
- tetchy
- touchy
- ugly
- waspish
- waspy
- whining
adjective as in petulant
adjective as in pharisaic
Weak matches
- affected
- artificial
- assuming
- bland
- canting
- captious
- deceptive
- deluding
- dissembling
- double
- double-dealing
- duplicitous
- faithless
- false
- feigning
- fishy
- fraudulent
- glib
- hollow
- insincere
- jivey
- left-handed
- lying
- moralistic
- oily
- Pecksniffian
- pharisaical
- phony
- pietistic
- pious
- sanctimonious
- self-righteous
- smooth
- smooth-spoken
- smooth-tongued
- snide
- specious
- spurious
- two-faced
- unctuous
- unnatural
- unreliable
adjective as in pharisaical
Weak matches
- affected
- artificial
- assuming
- bland
- canting
- captious
- deceptive
- deluding
- dissembling
- double
- double-dealing
- duplicitous
- faithless
- false
- feigning
- fishy
- fraudulent
- glib
- hollow
- insincere
- jivey
- left-handed
- lying
- moralistic
- oily
- Pecksniffian
- pharisaic
- phony
- pietistic
- pious
- sanctimonious
- self-righteous
- smooth
- smooth-spoken
- smooth-tongued
- snide
- specious
- spurious
- two-faced
- unctuous
- unnatural
- unreliable
adjective as in quibbling
noun as in criticism
Strongest matches
Strong matches
noun as in hairsplitting
Weak match
Example Sentences
What artist would want to tap into the flow of my caviling thoughts in the middle of a performance?
Someone better warn these caviling critics about Hamlet.
Come dinnertime, I boil plenty of water, salt it lavishly, and consider tossing my caviling kindergartner and terror of a toddler right in.
Pointless caviling aside, Senate Democrats were more successful at stopping another crucial foreign policy goal of the Trump administration this week.
They make deals, unencumbered by caviling aides and persnickety diplomats, as he and Mr. Trump will be when they meet in Helsinki.
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From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
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